Love Advice from James Gandolfini in His Most Underrated Movie, ‘The Mexican’

When I heard the news, my first recollection was not of Tony Soprano, but of Gandolfini’s 2001 role as a gay hitman holding Julia Roberts hostage from her estranged beau, Brad Pitt: I probably watched “The Mexican” 20 times in college. (Even more tellingly/embarrassingly: One of Gandolfini’s lines from it* was in heavy rotation in my AIM profile & away message – and yes, it was a not-so-subtle message to my on-again, mostly-off-again boyfriend.)

Tonight I did a twitter search to see if anyone else thought this movie/Gandolfini’s performance in it was underrated, and I was far from alone:

Didn’t love Killing Them Softly but Gandolfini’s performance was electrifying. And his gay hit man was the highlight of The Mexican. #RIP

So add it to your Netflix queue and let me know what you think. In the meantime, below are my favorite nuggets of love advice from “The Mexican.” [Some vague, oblique spoilers, but they won't really affect your future enjoyment of the movie.]

“Oh. Like I should be an interior decorator. That’s insulting.”

“The past doesn’t matter. It’s the future that counts.”

“There’s a seedy underbelly to the Postal Service.”

“When do you get to that point where enough is enough?”

Gandolfini’s character to Julia Roberts’ character:

(as seen in the clip above, and also my 2001 away messages): “Look, in my business you’re surrounded… by loneliness and finality. I don’t care what your take is on an afterlife, when people die, it’s scary, and they go alone.

Now, the people that I send off, that have experienced love… They’re a little less scared. They’re still scared, but there’s a calmness to ‘em. I think that comes from the knowledge that somebody somewhere loved ‘em and cared for ‘em and will miss ‘em. Now, I see that from time to time and I am awed by it. I don’t think I’d be telling you this if it wasn’t for Frank. Anyway, it’s a loaded question.

Look, when two people love each other, totally, truthfully, all the way love each other, the answer to that question is simple, especially in your case.